Man jailed for religiously aggravated rape of Sikh woman

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of nearly 14 years after the religiously aggravated rape of a Sikh woman.

John Ashby, 32, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court, where he had faced charges of rape, robbery, intentional strangulation and religiously aggravated assault in connection with the incident in Walsall last October.

The trial opened on Monday, where prosecutors said Ashby "targeted" the woman after they were riding on the same bus, before he followed her and entered her home.

He changed his pleas to guilty on Tuesday after being told to "sort your s*** out" in a confrontation in court.

Passing sentence on Friday, High Court judge Mr Justice Pepperall told Ashby that remarks made during the attack "reveal you as a deeply unpleasant racist and Islamophobe".

He also addressed the victim and her partner in court, telling them: "I have nothing but admiration for your bravery. I hope that with time, love and support you are able to rebuild your lives."

Ashby told victim he was 'British master'

The court heard extracts from "harrowing" body-worn police footage that showed the young woman, who has a legal right to anonymity, being comforted by a female officer after the assault.

She said her attacker had called her a "bloody Muslim b****", and that she had been raped in a bathroom by the intruder, who claimed to be a "British master".

In a video interview played to the trial, the victim told police: "He had a stick in his hand. I said 'who are you' and I started screaming.

"He switched off the light. He said 'I just want fun with you'. He said 'you are a f****** Muslim b****', I said 'I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh'."

Prosecutors told the court there could be no doubt that Ashby was the man who attacked the woman, citing DNA evidence, fingerprints found on a vape and the fact the victim pointed him out at an identity parade.

Confrontation in court and change of plea

On Tuesday, Ashby appeared to say "this is bulls***" during the proceedings.

A man, believed to be a member of the Sikh community not known to the victim, then walked to within 3ft of the glass-fronted dock, and told Ashby: " You're the bulls***. You need to sort your s*** out."

The defendant responded by telling the man to "get the f*** out of my face," and also shouted at another member of the public who had remained seated in the public gallery.

Trial judge Mr Justice Pepperall adjourned the case, sending the jury away for a lunch break.

Around an hour after the incident, Ashby asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Rav Dhillon, from the CPS, described the attack as "deeply disturbing" and "driven by religious hatred".

In a statement, she said: "John Ashby targeted a complete stranger, subjected her to prolonged violence and religiously motivated abuse, and left her traumatised.

"The fact Ashby initially denied these charges before changing his plea part-way through the trial reflects the strength of the evidence against him."

Meanwhile, Dabinderjit Singh, from the Sikh Federation lobby group, said the sentence would send "a strong signal to all racists that carry out violent attacks" and expressed hope it would "help the victim through this trauma".

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